Where Will CBD Be 1 Year from Now?

Where Will CBD Be 1 Year from Now?

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Many CBD users advocate for its array of health benefits. Though scientific evidence is still lacking, an increasing number of researchers are looking into CBD’s qualities and finding that some of the hype is true. Combined with anecdotal evidence, people are slowly finding their way to CBD products to treat conditions like anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and more. H

However, because CBD is derived from cannabis, there are still a high number of folks who steer away from it due to its relationship with marijuana. Advocates know that hemp-derived CBD products have little to no THC, so it’s not a psychoactive—but still, the stigma continues… for now. So, with newfound research, education, and market interest, where will the CBD industry be approximately one year from now?

The market will be booming

According to Hemp Business Journal, the market will be in a very good place. It estimated in 2016:

“The CBD market will grow to a $2.1 billion market in consumer sales by 2020 with $450 million of those sales coming from hemp-based sources. That’s a 700 percent increase from 2016. In 2015, the market for consumer sales of hemp-derived CBD products was $90 million, plus another $112 million in marijuana-derived CBD products which were sold through dispensaries—bringing a total CBD market to $202 million last year.”

This trajectory is impressive seeing as CBD products almost exclusively rely on word-of-mouth marketing. As more and more people try it, though, they share it with their friends and assure them that it is not a recreational drug, but something you take to promote bodily wellness.

The market will grow in such a way not just thanks to millennials: baby boomers, many of whom have been away from the cannabis industry for decades if they ever participated in it at all, are learning to use CBD products to treat arthritis and other pain symptoms. The James New York-Nomad Hotel offers a room-service CBD tasting menu, and the Standard brand hotels in New York and Miami sell CBD gumdrops in their minibars. CBD will most likely not be mainstream by next year, but it is becoming more commonplace.

More people will be educated

While CBD products remain a mystery to much of the general public—they’ve probably heard about the buzzword but still do not quite understand what it is—a lot can change in a year. Judging by sales within the past two years, many people are willing to give CBD a try, which means that people are becoming more educated. In a society where medications are expensive and come with side effects, it’s no surprise that people are seeking out pharmaceutical alternatives that can treat conditions like anxiety, insomnia, and pain.

With help from celebrities like Mandy Moore and doctors like Sanjay Gupta promoting the benefits of CBD, 2020 will doubtlessly see a rise in consumer interest. Stuart Tomc, Vice President of Human Nutrition at CV Sciences (the creators of PlusCBD Oil, which is sold in 1300 health food retailers), says:

“It’s evident that hemp-derived CBD products are doing better and growing faster than almost every other category in the supplement industry, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a supplement trend truly demonstrate demand in such an immense fashion. There are no barriers to acceptance as the idea of hemp-derived CBD is finally ripe. Consumers are embracing hemp-derived CBD.”

One reason people are keener to embrace hemp is that legal hemp-derived CBD productssuch as CBD Oil and CBD Gummies, contain .3 percent THC or less—meaning that there is no way for it to induce a “high.” People who do not want the psychoactivity of marijuana but desire the cannabidiol of hemp products need not worry about losing mental faculties while CBD is in their system.

Uncertain industry standards and legality

Despite the increased market interest, CBD remains subject to unclear legalities and near inexistent industry standards. The Farm Bill passed at the end of 2018, so hemp and hemp-based products are no longer restricted by the Controlled Substance Act, but that does not mean there are not still state-level hurdles and federal restrictions. The FDA, for instance, has still only approved Epidiolex and declared that manufacturers cannot sell CBD in dietary supplements or conventional foods.

As the market grows, though, the number of businesses willing to cut corners most likely will as well. There is no entity holding companies accountable for their growing practices, so consumers will need to be on high alert for brands that do not grow organic hemp, neglect to test their products with third-party labs, or fail to be transparent in their growing practices.

The CBD market is in a complicated place, but the odds seem to be in the industry’s favor. Where do you think CBD will be one year from now?